first! a quick congrats to the giveaway winners Mikki & Margaret! i'll be sending out your copies of Eating in the Middle today ❤
okay. okay. okay. i know this is like obnoxious. whooooo posts a recipe for turkey sandwiches. isn't that like SO basic? guess what my friend, the answer is NO. its not crazy basic. especially when you decide to make basil mayo turkey sandwiches because lifeeeeeee needs them.
i promise you this is the best freaking turkey sandwich you'll ever have. know how i know? because i originally had this sandwich on a trip in California in 2013. THREE YEARS AGO. and it was still burned in my brain to the point that i HAD to recreate it.
i know you're thinking I'm being dramatic, as usual, but here's the thing. the flavor combo on this sandwich is something i can't explain. it's just comforting and wholesome and refreshingly new all at the same time.
i puffy heart love basil mayo. i want to slather it on all my sandwiches all the time. but with turkey as a blank canvas. it. just. works.
and i think that like red pepper was a GENIUS idea to compliment the mayo.
i thought it was such original flavor combo and i was obsessed. I HAD to get one on my drive to the santa barbara airport each week because I WAS ADDICTED from the first bite.
in case you're ever driving to santa barbara and want to know where to pick one of these beauties up, i got it from South Coast Deli.
when i finally decided to recreate this sandwich, i knew the part I'd have to nail down was the basil mayo. it's the key part. the glue that ties it all in together.
and i gotta tell ya, it's a staple in my house now.
i know it's not a “California thing” but it reminds me of California. every time i have it i imagine that I'm driving down the coast in a car along winding roads with the windows down and the most BEAUTIFUL, endless views of the pacific ocean in my windshield. UGH. that's what this mayo screams to me. so let's just take a trip to California in our kitchens, shall we?
can we talk spiralizers for a quick second? I've converted. I'm no longer using the paderno spiralizer that i used to recommend (i still do btw – i just have one i like better – however, full disclosure it is a little more expensive than the paderno)
I've switched to the inspiralizer! i can tell you all the reasons i think you should switch too if you're interested (let me know and i'll do a post on it!) but basically i really do think it's a better product even though it's a little more expensive.
andddd it makes slicing veggies a dream. oh and i highly recommend spiralizing bell peppers and onions because they come out nice and thin. we all know my feelings on thin onions – we want a bite of onion flavor not a full on bite of onion.
plus its like the fastest ever. SUPER FAST. definitely worth it.
Ali from inspiralized has videos on how to do this!
alright, now that my babbling is primarily out of the way, let's see how easy it is to put this sandwich together.
we use deli turkey because i love thin turkey – BUT you could totally use turkey from an actual bird you cooked. maybeeee a thanksgiving leftover situation?! (its april and I'm thinking about thanksgiving…)
we put the turkey on the roll and top it with thinly sliced onion and pepper.
LOOK we're almost done! we're gonna spread a little lettuce and schmear on some basil mayo and then BAM its done.
even if you make your own mayo (which i highly recommend you do) it takes well under 30 minutes and it looks GORGEOUS. i recommend a really good roll or bun for this, but even with your standard rolls from the grocery store it's deceptively delicious. so don't feel like you HAVE to do anything fancy.
but you could also get like a really nice roll and make one big sandwich and cut it into sections and serve them at a party! i promise you they'll be a hit.
blog talk for a second! when you take a look at the recipe, you're going to see a new feature I'm trying out. within the recipe there will be a section for different things i think you need to know (i.e. “essential tools” and “make it whole30” or “make it a meal”)
I'd love to know what you think about this! i like the idea because i think it's easier to tell you what I'm using or what i think you need in one central place. you don't have to go looking through the post to see what brands i recommend. oh and i usually post recipes about one component of a meal a side or a main dish or a seasoning etc, and under “make it a meal” i let you know how i would match it up and pair it to be a full meal (usually this incorporates veggies)!
i also feel like I'm entering into a blog niche with whole30 – where i love posting and eating whole30 foods – and a lot of you visit this blog specifically for those posts ❤ – but that's not what i eat 100% of the time. a lot of times there are meals that i could totally see on a whole30 that just require a little tweaking. I don't want to include them under the actual whole30 tag because it's not officially whole30 and that's misleading. so instead I'm calling it “make it whole30” and giving you the directions you need to make it whole30 compliant. i feel like that's a better way to represent those meals that i think would be great for your whole30. but seriously, if you like it or if you don't, let me know!
- 1/3 cup mayo
- 8 basil leaves
- 1 red bell pepper
- 1 red onion
- lettuce
- deli turkey
- sandwich rolls
- Combine the mayo and the basil in your blender and blend until the basil is broken into small pieces and the mixture is well combined.
- Using a spiralizer, spiralize the bell pepper and red onion into thin slices. If you don't have a spiralizer, you can always use a knife to slice the pepper/onion super thin, but personally i think its so much easier to use the inspiralizer!
- Slice the lettuce as thin as possible.
- Toast the sandwich rolls. Spread the mayo on the top sides of the rolls. Layer the turkey, lettuce, red onion, and bell pepper on the bottom sides of the rolls. Slice the sandwiches in half and enjoy!
i never need to go back to california again. this is it. every bite is like an afternoon in cali. i'm good. ❤️
Make it? Lemme see it! Hashtag it: #thepikeplacekitchen
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